India landslides Rainfall-induced landslides Houses destroyed Houses collapsed Houses damaged

India’s Himachal Pradesh state hit by series of deadly landslides

*Rescue work underway on the Shiv Bawdi temple (credits: PTI)*

Over 60 people lost their lives in India after heavy rain and landslides, some of which were caught on video, hit the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand since Sunday, August 13.

Furthermore, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the state’s chief minister, said on Tuesday that 55 of the fatalities were recorded in Himachal Pradesh.

In the state capital, Shimla, a major landslide struck the Shiv Bawdi temple and buried more than two dozen worshipers. The Times of India reported that search teams were deployed on site and have so far rescued 5 people from the debris and retrieved 12 bodies, while more are still missing.

Reports have also been made about seven fatalities occurring in the Solan district and a further one in Mandi, due to houses collapsing under landslides.

The neighboring state of Uttarakhand was also affected by heavy rains that cost five people their lives.

It is worth noting that some parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh experienced as much as 419 mm and 273 mm respectively on Monday, according to the weather office.

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s office stated that during this monsoon season, the state had experienced the highest number of “cloudburst incidents” in 50 years.